Indiana Pacers Need To Move Cautiously WIth Danny Granger

If the Indiana Pacers can get Danny Granger back in the lineup on a full-time basis, imagine the potential for the Pacers down the stretch.

Granger saw limited action Friday in a 93-81 victory over the Toronto Raptors. It was only his fourth game of the season after missing the first 55 with a knee injury. He shot 3-of-5 from the floor and 1-of-3 in triples. He appeared to have his confidence in 10 minutes of action in the first half, shooting 3-of-5 for eight points, while grabbing three rebounds and one steal. He didn’t play in the second half since it was the second of back-to-back games.

The night before he saw 19 minutes of action and showed flashes of the Granger of old with 5-of-10 in shooting for 12 points and two rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers. It was a much better performance than two nights earlier in a five-point effort in 19 minutes of play against the Golden State Warriors.

Obviously, the Pacers don’t need to rush it with Granger, but having him healthy would be quite the bonus for a team that wouldn’t mind having another weapon in its hopes of challenging for Eastern Conference supremacy.

Here’s a player averaging 18.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in his NBA career. Knee injuries aren’t easy to overcome especially in the NBA, but Granger has both the intelligence and grit to get back to his old self.

He’s obviously progressing and the Pacers can use the rest of the regular season to get Granger as ready as possible to make substantial contributions in the playoffs.